Locals in Thailand Village Claim Black Magic Tattoos Helped Preserve the Skin of a Corpse

A group of cemetery workers clearing a graveyard in Thailand near the Laos border were shocked to excavate the corpse of a man whose skin had been persevered, as if by magic. In fact, some people have said the skin was preserved by black magic. The skin had black magic tattoos with a spell to make his skin impenetrable. Ironically, experts believe that the man possibly died from appendicitis simply because his skin was too hard to cut through.

Thai tattoos, also known as Yantra tattoos, have been popular in that area since ancient times. Like in other native Southeast Asian civilizations, animistic tattooing for luck and protection was common in Tai tribes. Over the years, the tradition expanded across what is now Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand.

Despite the tradition originating from indigenous tribal animism, it slowly but surely became tied to the Hindu-Buddhist concept of Yantra, with mystical geometric patterns used during meditation. Such tattoos were thought to have magic powers as well.